David Fury

David Fury, a key writer and co-executive producer of ABC’s hit series Lost, told SCI FI Wire that he is quitting the show immediately to work on two other series, The Inside and 24, and maybe develop a show on his own. ABC, meanwhile, ordered up a second season of the hit show.

"I’m very proud of Lost and my contribution to the show, but for numerous personal reasons, I feel like it’s time for me to move on to other things," said Fury, best known for being a writer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "I spent seven years of my career in one place [working on Buffy and its spinoff series, Angel], and it’s a lot of fun to work in different worlds. Lost was a lot of fun, and I have a great deal of gratitude for [series co-creators] J.J. [Abrams] and Damon [Lindelof]. I know the show will continue to be great, and I look forward to viewing it."

Fury wrote four scripts for Lost, including the fourth episode, "Walkabout," which centered on Terry O’Quinn’s character, Locke, and contained a whopper plot twist. "I think my favorite will always be ’Walkabout,’" Fury said in an interview. "It helped set the tone for what the show could be outside of the pilot. It was also served so well by the performance of Terry O’Quinn and some great production values and direction."

Fury will reunite with his former Whedonverse colleagues at The Inside, a Fox drama co-created by Tim Minear (Angel, Wonderfalls) and Howard Gordon (Angel, 24). "I’ll be starting this Monday [April 11]," Fury said. "I’m very excited about it. Tim and I have been anxious to work on something together, and this was a nice opportunity. I had wanted at the very least to write a script for him, but there was a lot of backstage goings on with Tim and Howard, and they made it happen for Fox to bring me over. I’ll be a full-time co-executive producer for the remaining six episodes left in [The Inside’s] 13-episode order. Then, as soon as I’m done with that, I’ll be going over to 24. I’ve been playing in the genre world for so long now, it will be interesting to go over there."

As for the long-term future, Fury revealed that he may head back to Abrams’ camp again someday. "I’ve been talking with Bad Robot, J.J.’s company, about possibly developing a show. I would love to develop with J.J., and he would love to develop with me, so we are going to try and make that happen." Lost airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The Inside is slated to premiere in the fall.